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On Dec. 6 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced this statement about the Beijing Olympics: 鈥淭he Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.鈥� This statement came at the heels of several human rights organizations鈥� calling for an Olympic boycott due to China鈥檚 ongoing genocide against ethnic groups, suppression of freedom in Hong Kong and repression of the Tibet people and culture.

President Biden鈥檚 decision was neither unexpected nor unprecedented: former President Jimmy Carter withdrew both American athletes and diplomats from attending the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and the Obama administration opted to only send lower-profile officials to the 2014 Sochi games due to political differences. The United States鈥� boycott of the Beijing Olympics will be a blend of these past approaches: while athletes will still be allowed to participate, no American political officials will be in attendance.

Although the decision received bipartisan support, some, such as Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, have called for a boycott on a larger scale. 鈥淭he President has once again opted for a half measure when bold leadership was required,鈥� Cotton said. 鈥淭he U.S. should fully boycott the 鈥榞enocide games鈥� in Beijing.鈥�

On the other hand, Social Studies Instructional Lead Jeffrey Patrick holds concerns regarding the unintended consequences of a full boycott. 鈥淕iven the nature of some sports, you only have one opportunity to participate in the Olympics,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 understand why politicians might be making this point, but I sympathize with the athletes.鈥�

Meanwhile, U.S. allies such as Australia, Canada and the U.K. have also announced diplomatic boycotts. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reiterated the organization鈥檚 system of political neutrality. 鈥淏y not commenting on political issues, you鈥檙e not taking a side,鈥� he said in a press conference. 鈥淭his is the mission of the IOC. Otherwise, we could not manage to accomplish the mission of the Games: to bring and unite the world.鈥�

Amid continuing disputes, social studies teacher Laurel Howard noted the difficulty of predicting the effect of a Beijing 2022 boycott. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a lot of data points on Olympic boycotts and their effectiveness, so it鈥檚 hard to tell what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥� she said.

However, historical examples鈥攖he 1980 Olympics, for instance鈥攃an provide insight into the effect of boycotts. 鈥淚n the 1980 Olympics, the boycotting countries were protesting an invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淭he Soviet Union did eventually crumble, but there were a lot of other factors. The fall only happened seven years later.鈥�

According to U.S. Foreign Policy teacher Tara Firenzi, New Zealand鈥檚 rugby team toured South Africa before the 1976 Olympics despite the United Nations鈥� calls for a sporting embargo due to South Africa鈥檚 apartheid abuses. While countries pressured the IOC to ban New Zealand from the 1976 Montreal Olympics, it refused to do so. That year, 29 predominantly African nations did not attend the games. 鈥淥n the issue of apartheid, it was good that the abuses in South Africa were taken seriously,鈥� Firenzi said. 鈥淚t forced the country into an isolated position in terms of its stance on its discrimination and deeply oppressive policies. There could have been more done beyond the boycott, but the Olympics were a strong message to send in the case of extreme wrongs.鈥�

While previous boycotts have each carried unique political contexts, one trend that most agree upon is that Olympic protests carry more symbolism than impact. 鈥淚f the goal is to draw more attention to this issue, I think it鈥檚 absolutely doing that,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚f the intended effect is stopping China from carrying out a genocide, I鈥檓 not sure how far a symbol can go.鈥�

Senior Neha Muthiah, the Editor-in-Chief of The Chariot鈥擥unn鈥檚 social and political magazine鈥攑ointed to more meaningful actions that the United States could take. 鈥淭he U.S. cannot influence China鈥檚 opinion, but our leaders can learn how to cooperate in matters requiring the cooperation of the world鈥檚 giants,鈥� she said. 鈥淢essages like the boycott erode the possibility of cooperation without any projected improvement in China鈥檚 human rights abuses.鈥�

Patrick even questions the morals behind the U.S. justifying their Olympic boycott. 鈥淭he U.S. prison population as a percentage of its entire population is larger than that of any other country, including China鈥檚,鈥� Patrick said. 鈥淲hen you also look at the disproportionate racial makeup of our prison population, it鈥檚 hard to make the argument that it is color-blind. I think it鈥檚 disingenuous to protest other countries鈥� practices instead of reforming our own policies to serve as a model.鈥�

Ultimately, one must place this Olympic boycott within its historical context to truly understand intent and ramifications. 鈥淩ather than addressing China鈥檚 human rights violations, the U.S. is more interested in trying to demonstrate to the world that we are stronger and more powerful than China,鈥� Firenzi said. 鈥淭he optics are extremely important at a moment where China is a genuine threat to the hegemony that the United States has enjoyed for the last few decades.鈥�

Muthiah looks to what the Olympic boycott reveals about global relations. 鈥淲estern countries conduct massive violations of human rights given that they directly or indirectly participate in wars,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 scrutiny in the analysis of China鈥檚 human rights positions not afforded to the western world. While China certainly has committed violations, we selectively ignore the wrongdoings of our allies.鈥�

The Beijing Olympics will officially commence on Feb. 4, 2022.